Collective actions filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage and hour laws increased again in 2006, far outpacing employment discrimination class action filings, according to the Third Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report by Seyfarth Shaw.

While the monetary value of the top 10 private plaintiff settlements in discrimination class actions totaled $91.2 million, the value of the top 10 wage and hour cases totaled $513.9 million. All but one of the overtime pay settlements included California-based employees and four involved the financial services industry.

“It is a fact of the modern American workplace that class action and collective action litigation is very attractive to the plaintiffs' bar,” said J. Stephen Poor, managing director of Seyfarth Shaw. “The stakes in such litigation can be extremely significant, as the financial and operational impact of such cases is enormous.”

The top 10 private plaintiff FLSA and state wage and hour law settlements were:

-$98 million–Bahramipour, et al. v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., f/k/a Salomon Smith Barney

Overtime pay case involving approximately 20,000 brokers in California, New Jersey and New York.

-$89 million–Bowman, et al. v. UBS Financial Services and Glass, et al. v. UBS Financial Services

Overtime pay cases involving financial advisers and trainees in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

-$87 million–Cornn, et al. v. United Parcel Services

Overtime pay claims involving lunch and rest periods for 20,000 drivers.

-$65 million–Rosenburg, et al. v. IBM Corp.

Overtime pay case involving 32,000 technical services and information technology workers.

-$42.5 million–Garett, et al. v. Morgan Stanley & Co.

Overtime pay case involving approximately 5,000 financial advisors.

-$38 million–Boyce, et al. v. 24 Hour Fitness USA

Overtime pay action involving approximately 50,000 workers.

-$37 million – Burns, et al. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.

Overtime pay case involving 3,250 brokers in California.

-$27.5 million – Lin, et al. v. Siebel Systems

Overtime case involving 800 software engineers.

-$15 million – Lenahan, et al. v. Sears Roebuck & Co.

Four cases claiming the company did not properly compensate in-home service technicians for commuting time.

-$14.9 million – Hasty, et al. v. Electronic Arts, Inc.

California's wage and hour case filed by engineers who claimed they were improperly classified as exempt.

Collective actions filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage and hour laws increased again in 2006, far outpacing employment discrimination class action filings, according to the Third Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report by Seyfarth Shaw.

While the monetary value of the top 10 private plaintiff settlements in discrimination class actions totaled $91.2 million, the value of the top 10 wage and hour cases totaled $513.9 million. All but one of the overtime pay settlements included California-based employees and four involved the financial services industry.

“It is a fact of the modern American workplace that class action and collective action litigation is very attractive to the plaintiffs' bar,” said J. Stephen Poor, managing director of Seyfarth Shaw. “The stakes in such litigation can be extremely significant, as the financial and operational impact of such cases is enormous.”

The top 10 private plaintiff FLSA and state wage and hour law settlements were:

-$98 million–Bahramipour, et al. v. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., f/k/a Salomon Smith Barney

Overtime pay case involving approximately 20,000 brokers in California, New Jersey and New York.

-$89 million–Bowman, et al. v. UBS Financial Services and Glass, et al. v. UBS Financial Services

Overtime pay cases involving financial advisers and trainees in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

-$87 million–Cornn, et al. v. United Parcel Services

Overtime pay claims involving lunch and rest periods for 20,000 drivers.

-$65 million–Rosenburg, et al. v. IBM Corp.

Overtime pay case involving 32,000 technical services and information technology workers.

-$42.5 million–Garett, et al. v. Morgan Stanley & Co.

Overtime pay case involving approximately 5,000 financial advisors.

-$38 million–Boyce, et al. v. 24 Hour Fitness USA

Overtime pay action involving approximately 50,000 workers.

-$37 million – Burns, et al. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.

Overtime pay case involving 3,250 brokers in California.

-$27.5 million – Lin, et al. v. Siebel Systems

Overtime case involving 800 software engineers.

-$15 million – Lenahan, et al. v. Sears Roebuck & Co.

Four cases claiming the company did not properly compensate in-home service technicians for commuting time.

-$14.9 million – Hasty, et al. v. Electronic Arts, Inc.

California's wage and hour case filed by engineers who claimed they were improperly classified as exempt.